This invention is related to jigs and hardware used in the construction of frame buildings and particularly to a support secured to a building frame for holding a board (e.g., wallboard) in place while the board is secured to the frame. In the context of this specification, the term, xe2x80x9cboardxe2x80x9d is understood to mean any large panel such as a sheet of plywood, fiberboard, sheetrock, plastic used to build walls by the construction industry.
Building the typical frame construction includes the operation of securing boards (wallboards) to the wooden frame. This is typically a two man operation requiring location for placement of the wallboard, and holding the wallboard in place while fasteners are applied to securing the wallboard to the vertical frame member.
A number of jigs have been disclosed for joining members, including frame members to wallboard and board members.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,642,595 to Gold et al discloses a channel-like bracket for supporting a board on a horizontal frame member.
However, supports of the current art do not provide the convenience and economy of enabling a single journeyman to secure a course of wallboards on vertical frame members.
It is an object of this invention to provide a bracket and method for supporting each board of a course of boards secured in a row on vertical studs of a frame. A further object is that the method be practiced by a single journeyman thereby reducing the cost of the operation. It is contemplated that the method be characterized as enabling the journeyman to secure the boards in a straight line.
This invention is directed toward a bracket including a short channel comprising two side panels and a joining panel. The joining panel has two elongated parallel edges, one said edge joined to an edge of one side panel and another edge joined to an edge of the other side panel. One side panel (the xe2x80x9clong sidexe2x80x9d) is longer than the other said side panel (xe2x80x9cshort sidexe2x80x9d).
The long side has several apertures through which fasteners (nails) are positioned for securing the bracket against a vertical surface such as a vertical stud of a frame of studs. Each bracket has a punched out nailer sticking out from the approximate center of the joining panel and in a direction away from the side panels. The bracket is first secured to the frame by hammering the xe2x80x9cpunched out nailerxe2x80x9d into the frame member thereby holding the bracket in place until nails are hammered into the frame member through the apertures in the bracket to secure the bracket more firmly.
In one embodiment, a line of perforations is formed in the joining panel proximal and parallel to the corner of the bracket where the long side panel joins the joining panel. The joining panel can be separated from the long panel by bending the bracket along the line of perforations.
According to the method of the invention for mounting the course of panels, a bracket is mounted on each vertical stud of the frame thereby forming a horizontal line of brackets. Care is taken to mount the brackets on a straight line before the panels are mounted thereby ensuring that the line of panels will be straight. Each bracket is held against its respective stud by driving the xe2x80x9cpunched out nailerxe2x80x9d into the respective stud. After checking to confirm that the brackets are accurately aligned, the bracket is more firmly secured by pounding nails through the apertures into the surface of the respective stud.